Big-Hearted Group Gives Military Working Dogs Veterinary Care–On The House

We at BarkPost have a special place in our hearts for our country’s military working dogs and their human handlers. Years of training and preparation help these unstoppable duos establish relationships so tightly bound, you’d be hard-pressed to find a handler who’d deny their canine partner is a member of the family.

To Banfield Pet Hospital and the American Humane Association (AHA), these noble men, women, and dogs are family too. That’s why, as a way to kick off the new year, they’ve joined paws to offer a whole year of preventative veterinary care to 14 deserving military canines.

Additionally, the Banfield Foundation has offered the AHA a grant of $10,000 so that so many more of our furry veterans can receive proper care.

Hardworking military dogs all over the world have shown us all just how far they’ll go to protect us: Rocky earned his purple heart after he and his handler suffered serious shrapnel wounds in an explosion, and the now-famous Malinois, Diesel, saved several human lives with his sacrifice in a Paris raid.

Military dogs do what their told, and they do it with vigor. It’s hard to believe that these canines were once not valued enough to earn them a ride back to the United States upon retirement—today, a new bill has changed that.

The dogs were also considered “equipment” for all intents and purposes; though now they are permitted to travel home with their handlers, they are not required to do so to escape war zones.

Our working dogs do so much more than we give them credit for. They are American citizens, they are family, and it’s time we do something to reflect that. As Sgt. Jason Bos of the United States Army (and handler for military dog Cila) said:

As a recent veteran myself, I have received love and compassion from many supportive people. Now is the time to give these hard working dogs the same type of treatment!

Thank you, Banfield, for taking the type of action we wish we saw everyday. We can only hope all of these dogs can soon be given the credit they so fiercely deserve.

To help the American Humane Association reunite retired military dogs and their families and provide them with needed medical care, you can give through their donation page.